Emerald War
by KnuxfanEO
Summary: The Freedom Force have established themselves as defenders of peace, but can they defeat enemies wielding the power of Chaos Emeralds?
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hey there! I'm still alive! Held back because of Regents and AP exams, but now I'm a little more open. Hope you all enjoy!

NEVER A QUITTER

"It would've been nice if he'd at least left us the jet!" Sonic mumbled. Sally glared back at him, so he jumped to defend himself. "Hey! Not that I don't wanna help him out, but even our jet is better than this piece of junk!" Sally let him off. There was too much to worry about. The jet they were using was an old model, and wasn't very, well…good. It was a bigger piece of junk than their other jet. "We're coming up on New Necropolis!" Tails said as the city came into view. The dark, jagged pillars made the city look like a set of crooked teeth. They landed and quickly ran out into the city. The strange thing was…it was empty. No Legionnaires. "Are they even here?" Rotor asked. "I'm getting a large signal!" Nicole beeped.

They hurried in that direction, but something caused Julie-Su to stop. Some strange instinct told her to turn to her left and enter the building next to her. After much hesitation, she hurried inside. The instinct led her up the stairs several flights, until it stopped in front of a large iron door. Something told her to open it. She hacked into the computerized lock and opened the door, and gasped when she saw a crib. She slowly walked over to it and glanced inside. There was a small, red echidna baby, less than a year old, laying in a quiet slumber. Looking around and seeing that no one was there, she gently took him up into her arms. It let out a thunderous yawn and looked up at her with a pair of big, green eyes. "Mace?" she asked him. The baby smiled and giggled, and she couldn't help but do the same. She had found Knuckles' baby brother. Knuckles! Now she had to find him.

For the first time in a long time Sonic was scared. In fact, he had never been so scared in his whole life. Before him and the rest of the Freedom Fighters hovered an echidna in gold and blue armor. All around him he could feel this being's energy. For some reason, however, it wasn't looking at them. It was looking at a smoking hole in the side of a building. "Aren't you going to say hello to your friends, nephew?" it shouted mockingly. They turned to the hole and saw Knuckles emerge from the smoke. He was bleeding all over, covered in cuts and bruises, his hat had dirt and dust on it, and his left eye was shut. "Knuckles!" Sally shouted as she went to run towards him. "Stay away from me!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. All were startled. "You shouldn't have come here! Leave now! I won't lose anyone else to you, Dimitri, or Enerjak, or whatever you're called!" Enerjak chuckled. "And just how do you intend to beat me? Your arm is broken." Indeed, Knuckles was clutching his right arm tightly. "I…will fight you…as long as I…can breathe…as long as my heart pumps blood…" Knuckles responded.

Enerjak chuckled. "How noble of you. Hmmmm….I wonder." Suddenly, Knuckles started gasping. He had a strange look in his eyes. Then it hit them. He couldn't breathe! Enerjak laughed as Knuckles fell to the ground, gasping for air. "This is most enjoyable." Finally, Knuckles was breathing again. "And what was that you were saying about blood? As long as your heart pumped it?" Suddenly, Knuckles was screaming in agony. "Yes, I suppose that would be rather painful. I'll let you off now." Knuckles started gasping again as the numb feeling in his body washed over. "As you can see, my power goes far beyond what you can ever comprehend," Enerjak said as he hovered higher into the air. Suddenly, the city began to shake. They watched as screws unscrewed and metal pieces hovered in the air. They looked around them and saw each individual piece of each individual building floating in the air. After a few moments, he reassembled them. "So what? You're the…world's greatest…handyman! Big deal!" Knuckles shouted. Enerjak chuckled and said, "Always the defiant one, aren't we? It won't be long now. I can feel your energy slipping away. It's only a matter of time." Knuckles clenched his fist and shouted, "This ends now!" He made one final charge at Enerjak, putting every ounce of energy he had into it. Enerjak simply held out his hand and clasped it. Knuckles froze in mid-air, as if being held by a huge invisible fist. Enerjak tightened his grip, and Knuckles' eyes widened in pain. They heard bones cracking as he let out a silent scream. Enerjak released him, and his limp body fell to the floor. "Yes. It is done," Enerjak said as he hovered higher while the others rushed to Knuckles, "The final son of Edmund has been defeated! The weak side of our family has been extinguished. Time to finish this!" Suddenly, there was a quick flash between them and Enerjak. Standing there now was a black hedgehog with red streaks in his quills. "I'm sorry I took so long, Knuckles. Dimitri! You will pay for what you've done to my friend!" Enerjak simply laughed. "Shadow. How nice to see you rushing to your friend's side. It makes sense that you should die with him for all the trouble you two have collectively caused me." They looked up to see him charging a large ball of energy. "And now he will die, along with the rest of you. The Freedom Force will perish!" They prepared for the end, but then Enerjak suddenly disappeared. Vanished. Gone!

They looked around for a few seconds, but didn't see him. They then turned their attention to Knuckles. He was just staring into space. "Knuckles? Can you hear me?" Sally asked. "I…I failed…" They looked at each other, then back at him. "Mom…Dad…Mace…I failed them all…" Suddenly, they heard Julie-Su yelling out his name as she ran over to them. She gasped when she saw the condition he was in, then hurried to show him who she had brought. "Knuckles…look," she said as she revealed the baby she had found. None of them had ever seen his eyes light up the way they did just then. "M-Mace…" "Yes, Knuckles. You found him!" Julie-Su said. "I w-wish I could…hold him…but…but…my arms are b-broken…" Julie-Su brought the baby closer to his head. He kissed its head as tears flowed from his eyes. "I love you…little brother," he whispered. He looked up at Julie-Su and said, "T-take care of…him for…m-me…", before his head slumped back. Julie-Su gasped, and the baby began to cry.

"Anything?" Swiper asked F.C., who was mentally trying to locate the others. "Nope," he replied as he continued his mental search. "How 'bout now?" Morph asked a few seconds later. The young mage growled and said, "You've been doing this for five minutes now! Quit it!" Swiper and Morph jumped up. "Sorry, man!" Morph said as Grim let out a long sigh. "I know. I can't take sitting around either," Cap said to him. Suddenly, F.C. gasped in horror, sweat forming on his brow. Everyone jumped to attention. DJ looked out in the same direction and could only let out, "W…WOAH…" "You picking up what I am, DJ?" F.C. asked. "Yeah. 'Gulp' What could possibly be giving off power like that?" "I dunno. But it isn't…wait. I'm sensing Knuckles…he's right there with it!" Vipes put his hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "What's happening?" "They're fighting!"

F.C. brought them through the fight verbally as he picked up on it. He told how the others arrived, how another energy came to help, and how the strange energy grew. "It…it's gone." "What?" Freezie asked. "It's gone! Vanished…without a trace." DJ looked around, "Yup, I'm not picking up anything close to it in any direction." "Oh no…" F.C. whispered. "What is it?" Cap asked. "…Knuckles…" Vipes clutched his friend's shoulder tighter, "What happened? What about Knuckles?" They were startled when the mage jumped up and flew out the door. They watched as a ball of energy formed around him as he flew, and caused him to vanish! "He teleported," Vipes explained. "Something's wrong."

The Ravagers waited where they stood for several minutes in silence. Several other residents greeted them, but they didn't respond. Finally, there was a flash, and the other's were in front of them, along with F.C. Cap smiled when he saw them, but his mouth quickly fell open when he saw F.C. using his magic to levitate Knuckles' battered body.

They all waited as the doctor did what he could with the limited supplies they had. Julie-Su did her best to calm the whimpering baby, but it was no use. Finally, Doctor Quack stepped out. "This is probably the worse case I've ever seen. Both arms and legs broken, broken wrist, broken ribs, concussion, massive internal bleeding…it's no use." "What's no use?" Tails asked. The doctor sighed and said, "I…I don't have any way to save him. We only have so many sedatives to use. I've had to ration them to three per patient! They don't even last more than a few hours. It would be best to…put him out of his misery." An eerie silence fell upon them. How could they do that? How? "There has to be anotha way!" Bunnie pleaded, but the doctor shook his head. "Once I use all his sedatives, he'll be in a lot of pain. He longer you wait, the longer he's in pain." Julie-Su looked down at the sleeping Mace and sighed. Her head shot up as something hit her. "Wait! We don't have to!" They looked at her in confusion, as she got ready to explain. She told them about how she had gone back to the Legion, and how he had gotten shot getting her back out. She then explained how in almost no time, his injury had healed itself. "That seems interesting, but that was one injury. This! This is far worse than a laser wound to the shoulder." "It'll work! We just have to give him rest and time," Julie-Su pleaded. The doctor looked at their hopeful faces and sighed. "Fine. We wait."

Julie-Su carried Mace into the room and looked at Knuckles with tearful eyes. His ribs were bandaged, his legs, arms and wrist in casts, and there were blood-stained bandages on his head. Mace woke up, looked over at him, and began to whimper. Julie-Su quietly shushed him as she hugged him. "He's gonna be alright, Mace. He's gonna be alright. I promise." The baby began to calm down and smiled up at her. She giggled and said happily, "And you know what? You and me…we're gonna wait for him. Just you wait! He'll wake up in a few days and he'll be okay." The baby yawned again and slowly began to drift off to sleep. She laid him down beside his big brother on the pillow and pulled some covers over them both. She leaned over and kissed both of their heads and got onto the empty hospital bed beside them. "Goodnight boys," she whispered as a tear fell down her cheek.

Everyone came to visit the next day. Whenever someone tried to take Mace outside to play, he began to cry uncontrollably. As soon as he could see Knuckles, however, he was fine. Julie-Su, like Mace, wasn't willing to leave the room either. Bunnie simply brought food during the day and they used the hospital bathroom and shower. Some talked with Knuckles, thinking he might be able to hear them. Others played with Mace. Mace liked everybody. Sally was a little disturbed when she noticed how much he liked the Ravagers. Not that they weren't a good group of guys…but they were idiots. Only one person couldn't find the heart to enter that hospital room…Sonic.

Sonic came back from an unusually long walk. Yes, a walk. He couldn't even find any enjoyment in running. He just couldn't get over himself. He had thought of himself as the greatest hero Mobius had to offer. Then why didn't he put his life on the line to try and stop Enerjak? Why hadn't he been selfless and told his friends to escape? Why didn't he think of others before himself? He had gone out into the woods to take a long hard look at himself. He did…and he wasn't impressed. It was time to change. Knuckles had changed. He had started as a cold guy, but showed that he wasn't like that at all. Sonic could do the same.

Sally walked out of the hospital with a smile on her face, but as soon as she was out of sight, she burst into tears. She couldn't stand seeing him like that. He had been so strong, even through the hardest of times. Even when she thought they were gonna drown in that boat, he didn't give up and got them through. Now he was broken. Broken? No, he was shattered. She watched him get shattered like glass with a simple hand gesture. She looked up and saw Sonic coming out of the woods. Great. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. Sonic walked over to her and stood in silence for a moment. "Hey," he finally said. "Hey," was her only reply. "How is he?" "You should go find out yourself. Or are you afraid to? Are you afraid to look at someone who puts his whole heart and soul into something and never gives up! Is that it!" Sonic was baffled. He had never seen her like this. "Sal…" "Don't 'Sal' me. Just go away." He paused, but regained his composure. "I know I've haven't been the greatest guy lately. I've been stupid, selfish and self-centered. I thought that I was better than Knuckles…but he was the better guy. He IS the better guy." She looked at him curiously, surprised he had the guts to say all of this. "I want to change Sal. I want to prove to you that I'm a better guy than you think I am. I thought that Knuckles was here just to make me look bad…but in reality…he was here to make me look at myself, and see how bad I was. But no more. I'm starting over. Will you give me the chance?" Sally stared for a moment, and then threw her arms around him, crying. "He's gonna be okay," he whispered. After a moment or two, they broke their embrace, and he smiled as he walked over to the hospital.

Sonic walked in and saw Julie-Su holding the battered echidna's hand as Cap told Mace a story. Sonic cringed at the sight of him. His legs and arms were in casts, his legs suspended by wires. His wrist was also in a cast, hanging in a sling. His ribs were bandaged up, as was the side of his head. He looked like a building had fallen on him. "So then your brother…oh. Hey, Sonic," Cap said with a smile. He didn't exactly approve of Sonic's attitude, but he wasn't the type that disregarded people because of personality defects. He tried his best to get along with everyone. He thought that Sonic wasn't such a bad guy deep down, and he really wasn't. He just had to get over himself. Julie-Su, however, didn't like Sonic at all, and ignored him as he entered and sat across from her on the other side of Knuckles. He smiled, but she didn't even glance over at him. He could see how worried she was. "H-How is he?" "Fine." Sonic looked down at his feet and thought for a second. "Hey…Julie-Su?" "What?" she said with an aggravated sigh. "I just wanted to…to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've said about you and Knuckles…I'm sorry for being such a jerk." "And a loser." "And a loser." "And a dork." "And a dork." "And a-" "You can stop anytime now," Sonic said with a chuckle. She chuckles too and smiled. Sonic looked over at Knuckles and smiled. "Hey. How are ya, Knux?" he asked the unconscious echidna. "Everything's fine here. Things aren't too bad at all. We're…just worried about you, man. I am. I…never gave you a chance before…but…I'm willing to now. So…heh. Wake up soon so we can become friends, okay?" Cap got up and placed Mace next to Knuckles. "I gotta go. I left Grim with DJ for too long. Gotta save Grim from DJ's stupidity and DJ from Grim's rage. See ya, guys. Later Knuckles. Get better soon, man." They said farewell to their friend and turned their attention to Mace. Sonic carefully lifted him up and said, "So you're Mace, huh? I'm Sonic. I'm not a friend, but I'd like to be. You have no idea how lucky you are to have a big brother like Knux. When he wakes up, he'll be so happy to see you. We'll all have fun, and there will be no problems at all. Everything will be fine."

In the bowels of Robotipolis, Robotnik continued to slave away at his newest creation. "Connect this here…this here…and it's done! Just one more thing to add to the core!" A swat bot holding a black box stepped up. It opened the box, revealing a chaos emerald! "Yes…" the evil one said as he placed it into his creation. Circuits crackled and sparks flew as the mechanized devil awoke. It was a blue and silver robot with glowing red eyes…that resembled Sonic! Although it was made of metal and had a jet engine as a stomach, it resembled Sonic's basic form. "Yes…now, my creation…you are ready. Go now and find the Freedom Force! Destroy them all! With the power of a chaos emerald, it should be no problem for you." "Yes master," it said in a high pitched, metallic voice as its jagged teeth flashed a grin. Its jets whirled as it took off at blinding speed. "Yes. It will be over soon. Before this 'Freedom Force' came about, all I had to worry about was the hedgehog and his friends. So, I built Metal Sonic to handle him. Now I have all of them to handle. So…just add a chaos emerald…and BAM! Now he can handle all of them! I will crush the Freedom Force! HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!"


	2. Chapter 2

Metal Madness

It was a quiet day in the village of Knothole, All were trying their best to recover from what had happened with Enerjak. No one could explain why he had suddenly vanished. Rotor came up with a theory that perhaps Dimitri's body was just not able to support all the energy anymore, and he simply imploded upon himself. The mysterious hedgehog Shadow, however, was not convinced. He was a real mystery, as Knuckles had been when he had first arrived. Every day he spoke with Sally and Cap, who got more and more out of him each time. He had met Knuckles not too long after his family had been killed. Shadow himself had no recollection of his past. He had been released from a capsule in a secret base owned by both the Legion and Robotnik. He and Knuckles had worked together for a few weeks, but eventually went their own ways. Now Shadow was a traveling loner. Sally, of course, offered him a home in Knothole, which, after much convincing, he accepted. Life was getting better for the first time since the war started. Knuckles was getting better each day, and the doctor expected him to wake up in the next few days. All was peaceful. Leave it to the guys to spoil it.

Vipes had been vigorously training all morning. The Ravagers, the Chaotix, and the male members of the Freedom Fighters sat around and watched him, wondering what he was trying to accomplish. "This is great. A day relaxing with the guys," Mighty said as he stretched. "Yeah. Now can someone tell me what he's doing?" Espio asked. They watched as Vipes stood perfectly still, slashing at leaves as they fell and swearing in Japanese afterwards. "Yes, I make up funny words too," Vector said. "It's Japanese!" "Chill! What are you doin' anyway?" Sonic asked. "Making it harder to rake the damn leaves is what!" Grim growled. "I'm trying to cut the leaves in half." They stared at him for a second, then all the leaves cut in two beneath him. Not one wasn't cut. They then looked up at him and in unison said, "Come again?" "Not in half like you cut a cake! In half like as in through the middle! Like pulling a tissue into two tissues!" Now understanding what he meant, they snickered. "It'll take you a while, being you can't hit a spider on the floor," Freezie taunted. "Shut up! It's harder than it looks!" "It's alright, man. It takes a while to become a good ninja," Morph said. "I happen to be a good ninja. Watch! A good ninja can cut right through a tree in one swipe!" Tails jumped and said, "I don't think Sally will like this!" "She won't miss one tree. She isn't that strict!" Sonic said.

They watched as Vipes tensed before the tree, dashed at the tree and slashed. He landed, smiling confidently under his mask, until he noticed his sword was gone. He looked back and saw it wedged in the middle of the tree. "Crap!" he shouted as he went to try and pull it out, the others laughing wildly. "Shut up and give me a hand!" "Certainly, master ninja!" Vector said with a smirk. They all yanked, but couldn't get it to budge. "Jeez, you really wedged it in there," DJ said as he grabbed it and leapt up, placing his feet against the tree. "On three! One, two, three!" They all pulled with all their might, the sword slowly coming loose. DJ, of course, had to ruin everything and shout, "C'mon! Pretend its Grim's sister! " Grim, enraged, stopped pulling and growled. "I'm gonna kill you!" as he created a fireball. "NO, GRIM!" Cap shouted in a frenzy, but all too late. The fireball was launched, DJ dodged, and the tree went up in flames. Cap immediately panicked, running around screaming, "OH MY GOD! FIRE! FIRE!" Grim took after DJ, who ran like Godzilla was behind him. The others scrambled around, knocking each other over and tripping over each other trying to get water to put the tree out. "The tree!" "My sword!" "My sister!" "My God," Sally sighed as she opened the door to her hut. She ran out and organized the guys as Grim chased DJ throughout Knothole, and Cap ran around crazily shouting, "FIRE!"

Julie-Su shook her head as she peered out the window. Hopeless. They were all hopeless. She turned around and sighed. Knuckles' condition had improved from what it had been, but he was still in rough shape. She smiled, however, when she saw Mace snuggled up against his side. She took a damp cloth and rubbed it across Knuckles' forehead, trying to keep him cool. It had become rather hot in the last few minutes. No wonder why. She smiled again and turned back to the window.

It was gone. Done. Burnt to the ground. The guys all stood around a large, charred circle on the ground where the tree used to be. Vipes bent down, pushed some burnt wood aside, and pulled out his sword. "Good thing you're magic," he said as he sheathed his sword. Sally circled behind them saying, "Just look at what your idiocy has done. The whole forest could have gone up!" "Well maybe if our fearless leader wasn't running around screaming, 'FIRE! FIRE!'-" "Shut up! I was panicked!" Cap shouted in defense. "You all deserve equal blame!" Sally shouted. They silenced, and went back to staring at the charred circle. "We killed it. One of God's creations. I feel awful," Mighty said sorrowfully. Freezie took a good look at the circle and chuckled. "It's not out yet. I'll fix that." As soon as they heard the zipper unzip, they all turned away in disgust. "Dude! That's what the outhouse is for!" Tails shouted. "That won't put this out!" Freezie shot back.

Suddenly, Bunnie came running over, calling for Sally. "What's wrong?" Sally asked, concerned. "We jus' got somethin' on radah. It's comin' heah!" All went silent. Knothole had been located. Or at least that's what they assumed. "This isn't good," Espio said. "No it isn't. What'll we do?" Sally though for a moment in silence. Finally, she turned to them and said, "We have to intercept it! We have to assume that it's only coming in this direction and doesn't know about Knothole. It we keep it out of here, we might be in the clear. Here's what we'll do…"

Sonic couldn't really hear her. He wasn't listening to her. He was listening to his heart. It was telling him to go out and fight whatever was coming. Even just hold it off long enough to make a difference. He took a deep breath, snuck back from the group a few steps, and dashed out of their view. A quick trip to the main computer and he would know where to go. Then he would be gone. This wasn't to prove his worth. It wasn't to show off. It was to protect his friends, and he intended to do just that.

"-Then Sonic, you'll…Sonic?" The others glanced where he was, and saw that he was gone. "Where'd he go?"

Sonic continued to sprint due east, in the direction the object was coming from. Swear poured from his brow, then broke up and evaporated milliseconds after splurting off. Who knows what he was running towards. Whatever it was, he knew he had to stop it. Suddenly, there was a flash in front of him. He saw the bolt coming at him and quickly side-stepped, narrowly missing becoming deep fried. He looked up and quickly jumped back in order to avoid a serious blow to the face. As he dodged, he got a look at his adversary. It was a machine. A machine that looked exactly like him! 'What the hell is this thing?' he thought to himself. He began avoiding a barrage of punches and kicks. After leaping up onto a large boulder, Sonic got ready to make his own offensive assault. However, his opponent had stopped, and was staring him down. "So…you are 'Sonic'? A pity. I expected more." The mechanized hedgehog said. Its sharp teeth flashed a grin. "What are you talking about? We haven't even fought yet!" Sonic shouted. The machine chuckled and said, "Fine. If you think you can beat Metal Sonic, then show me!" "Then here we go!"

"He isn't here. We've looked everywhere," Tails said. Sally wasn't sure what to feel like. She wanted to kill him, but she wanted to see him alive at the same time. "That idiot! He'll be killed! What'll we do?" "We'll go after him. Ravagers, time to boogey," Cap said as he turned around to his team, who were all wearing wireless headphones and listening to the Numa Numa song. "Damn. It's so catchy," Morph said to Swiper, who nodded. Cap sighed and lowered his head. "Why me?"

Julie-Su was in shock. First of all, Sonic had run off to fight whatever was coming, and now Knuckles was acting up. He was gritting his teeth and slightly trembling. Mace began to whimper, so she took him up into her arms and kissed his head. "He'll be okay. " She looked down at Knuckles and whispered, "What's wrong?" To her surprise, he whispered, so softly she could hardly make it out, "…sonic…"

Sonic panted heavily as his opponent chuckled. They were evenly matched, blow for blow. However, Metal Sonic wasn't becoming tired. "Are you ready to die? I could finish this now, or we could drag it on. Your choice." "What makes you think you can beat me so easily?" Sonic shouted. What trick did Metal Sonic have up his sleeve? "Fool. All this time, I've been collecting data. Your attack patterns, techniques, form, I've been downloading it all onto my database! And now…it is time for me to assume my ultimate form! Prepare to die!"

Metal Sonic growled as its red eyes began to glow green. The light that had reflected off of its metal exterior also began to shimmer green, becoming almost blinding. Sonic put his hand over his eyes to block the light. He could hear the machine's high-pitched voice becoming deeper and deeper. There was a bright flash, and Sonic looked up in awe. Metal Sonic had transformed! Embedded in its chest was a green chaos emerald! Its metallic quills had become longer, running down its back. Its mouth and nose were gone, leaving just a blank mouthpiece. It was more heavily armored, with a black cloak around its waist. It then let out a deep, deep chuckle. "I believe it is time for you to die. Goodbye, Sonic the hedgehog!"

Metal Sonic's back jets erupted, causing the earth behind him to shatter as it dashed forwards. Sonic quickly evaded the oncoming threat, dashing off to the side and landing atop a large boulder. He sniffed a strange scent in the air, and realized something was burning. He looked at his spines to see that the ends of the spines on the right side of his body had been singed. Metal Sonic had gotten that close! Before he had time to do anything else, he heard a cracking sound. He looked beneath him only to see the boulder shatter, Metal Sonic bursting from the ground. The he heard a squishing sound. That was probably Metal Sonic's fist plowing into his stomach, but he couldn't be sure. All he could tell was that his stomach really, REALLY hurt. He then heard the rustling of the leaves as he flew up through them. Branches swatted him in the face as the momentum of the punch continued to send him upwards, and then they swatted his back as he began his eventual downward decent. Then he felt the ground. He didn't like the ground very much. Why couldn't it be nice and soft? He groaned as he lifted himself up. He reached for the nearest object to help pull himself up, and heard a chuckle as he grabbed something. Something metallic.

"What's wrong with him?" Julie-Su shouted, panicking as Knuckles got worse. He was growling loudly as he shook around. Sweat poured down his forehead as he clenched the sides of his hospital bed. The doctor tried to sedate him, but it wasn't working. He wasn't going out. "This can't be happening! He should be out like a light by now!" Doctor Quack said in confusion. They looked at him with great concern as he softly let out, "….get…up…".

Metal Sonic tossed Sonic aside and laughed as the hedgehog laid there, moaning in pain. "Fool. You never stood a chance. The great Sonic the Hedgehog. What a laugh!" Metal slowly walked over to him, its feet making a loud clang as it walked. It picked Sonic up by the throat and held him up before itself. Chuckling, it said, "Don't be sad. Your friends will be joining you as soon as I find them. And I will find them." Sonic couldn't even lift his arms. He couldn't believe it. He was going to die like this. 'After all we've accomplished…After all we've been through…I can't…let this happen.' Miles away in the village of Knothole, Knuckles opened his eyes, emitting a bright green light. His back arched as he continued to growl, more and more sweat pouring from his brow. Back in Metal's clasp, Sonic felt a sudden rush of energy. He opened his eyes as his spines began to stand on end. Metal let go so as to drop him, but Sonic's body didn't drop. There was a flicker, then a spark, and then a bright flash, revealing a glowing yellow hedgehog. Metal's eyes widened. Its sensors were overloading as its opponent's energy readings jumped through the roof. "What is this?" it shouted. "This is the end…for you!" Sonic shouted. The machine growled as it concentrated energy into its hands. "Fool! I will not be defeated!" He unleashed the full extent of his might, only to find the area around the hedgehog charred, but the hedgehog himself unscathed. "How? It's as if he neutralized my energy! But that's impossible! Only the Master Emerald can neutralize the power of the chaos emeralds! This cannot be!" Sonic simply held out his hand and said, "Guess again. Later," before unleashing a burst of energy, blasting Metal Sonic away, shattering every microchip into dust.

Sonic closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His spines lowered, and his color reverted back to blue. Back in Knothole. Knuckles' eyes ceased glowing, his pupils rolled back, and his eyes closed as his body slumped back down onto the bed.

Sonic turned around to see Sally standing there, staring at him. He wondered if she had seen his transformation, and if that was why she was looking at him like that. He smiled and said, "I…I guess I'm in trouble, huh?" She smiled, ran over to him, and threw her arms around him as she laughed. "Come on. Let's get back to Knothole. We can discuss your punishment for going off recklessly without orders when we get there," she said. He let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes to Heaven, then chuckled as the pair walked off holding hands.

When they came back into Knothole, they were greeted by a cheering crowd. Sonic simply smiled and waved once before walking off, which surprised Sally. She had thought he would bask in his accomplishment. Those in the crowd looked at each other as their hero walked into the medical hut.

"I hear you're a big hero now," Julie-Su said with a smile as he walked in. Sonic shook his head and said, "No. We are," he said as he sat next to Knuckles. He smiled and said, "You did something, didn't you? Didn't you?" "He was acting really strange. He started saying your name, and telling you to get up. He was so quiet you could barely hear him, but he did say it." Sonic smiled. He had been right. Somehow, Knuckles had created a link between Sonic and the Master Emerald. Apparently, the tensions between them had been relieved. He grasped the echidna's hand tightly and said, "Thanks buddy."


	3. Chapter 3

Getting Back To 'Normal'

It was a bit after midnight when a figure left her hut and began to walk through the village of Knothole. She buttoned up her vest when she felt the cold air sweep past her. Sally had decided to check on the three echidnas in the medical hut one last time before turning in. She wasn't sleeping anyway, so it wasn't a problem for her.

As she walked, she heard a strange sound. She looked around her, but saw no one. Quietly, she crept over to where the sound had originated. She turned around a tree, and there was a large, shadowy creature hanging from a tree branch! "AH!" "AH!" "AH!" "AH!" the two exclaimed, first Sally, then the figure, then again. She then noticed that it was DJ, hanging upside down from a tree branch. "AH!" he finally said after a short pause. "What are you doing here?" Sally whispered. "I dunno. Hanging out?" She put her hand over her eyes and shook her head. "I just came out to think," he continued, "I do my best thinking here." "Upside down?" "Yeah, I know. Go figure." She chuckled. Although she thought he was an absolute idiot, she loved how he was always in a bright mood, just like Cap. "I was going to check up on Knux, Julie, and Mace. Wanna come?" "Sure," he said as he swung right-side up and jumped down from the branch.

"How are things?" he asked. "Fine. Sonic has kitchen duty for a month for running off recklessly. You?" "Meh. I'm doing alright. Just enjoying the time off while I can." There was silence for a moment or two, until she asked, "DJ…Todd…Do you think that we'll ever win this war, or that we're wasting our time and energy?" He thought for a second, then said, "Yep. Probably wasting our time." She looked at him in shock, until he continued, "But even if we are, we're showing them that we aren't afraid to fight and die for what we believe in. We're standing up to the man, man…um…I mean squirrel! So many people are afraid to do anything anymore. But if we stand up, others will soon follow. We give the people hope for the future." "A future that we'll never obtain?" "I didn't finish. We give people that hope, which is needed more than anything else. So yes, we may be wasting our time, but as long as there's hope, and people that will believe in a certain ideal, like peace, then we'll never be defeated. We have the heart and desire to go on and never stop. We have the guts and the leadership to carry on, even after great hardships. We have the spirit to…to…….we have spirit! We have the bond that a real family has. Why do you think the Ravagers are all so close? Because we're a family. A wild, crazy, slightly psychotic family. And now, like a virus, we've spread it to you guys, so now we're all a wild, crazy slightly-psychotic family!" She stared at him for a few seconds, then he finished, "Neither Robotnik nor Dimitri have that kind of power. In the end, we will prevail." She looked at him in admiration, then shook her head and asked. "Wait a second! I thought you were just talking about us wasting our time fighting something we'd never win?" "Was I? Hmmm…Oh well. Guess I changed my mind."

They then noticed that they were in front of the medical hut and decided to peek in through the window. There was Knuckles, still lying there, with Mace snuggled up against the side of his chest. Julie-Su was in the hospital bed next to them, fast asleep. Satisfied with their trip, the two turned back to their huts. DJ walked Sally to her hut, being that hers was farther away. "Thanks again. I'm…glad we had the chance to talk," she said with a smile. "Me too." They said good night and turned, but DJ stopped her. "Sal," he said. "Yes?" "Could you…not tell anyone you saw me out here tonight?" "Why?" she asked to his strange request. "Because…I put shaving cream in Grim's hand and tickled his moustache…" DJ said. Sally stared at him blankly, then said, "Fine. Good night." "Thanks. You too."

The morning came with a cool, brisk breeze. It was still early, and not a soul was awake. The birds chirped as they swooped through the air, and the rising sun opened the flowers, perfuming the air with their scents. The sunlight finally broke through the trees, and the grass shimmered with the morning dew, making the whole village glisten. There wasn't a more peaceful place on the planet. "DEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" It would seem someone is awake…and now everyone else is.

"Kitchen duty for a month, huh?" Swiper asked Sonic, who was behind the counter at the mess hall. Cap was still holding Grim back, who was still angry at DJ for the shaving cream. "I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" "No one else would do something so stupid and childish!" "Calm down, Grim!" It was then that Sonic noticed that all of them were in their boxers. "You guys know Sal will kill you all…" Freezie coughed and stood on top of one of the tables, so all could see him. Grim stopped struggling with Cap and looked at the table Freezie was on. "Your feet are on the table. Feet are disgusting." There he stood, hands placed upon his hips, as if he were exhibiting his black, red heart boxers. Some were staring at him while others shook their heads as he began, "Now…there are some problems that I would like to present before all of you. This may be a surprise to you, and some of you might be shocked, so be ready for this…none of you are wearing any pants. Now, we humans cannot indulge in the privilege that you all so enjoy for…well, obvious reasons, but is it fair that we are confined to pants? I say it is not! Why are we fighting for freedom abroad when we don't even have it here in our own quarters? Why, I ask, are we humans not permitted to wear just our boxers, when you all walk around in shoes, and nothing but? Princess Sally and her restrictions! Confining us whilst she flaunts herself around in nothing but boots and a vest! Well, I have a few words for her! I-" "Then say them." He, very slowly, turned around and saw Sally, glaring at him. He chuckled for a split second and said, "The system works!" before darting off out the door before anyone could draw a breath. She then turned to the others and glared. Swiper, whose back was to her as he gathered his breakfast, didn't notice as the others slunk away. He turned, with a happy smile on his face, to meet the dark glare of Sally. He stared, with his bright smile, which slowly faded, put his breakfast down on the table, and ran off to his hut to get some pants.

'Uhhh…Where…where am I? Why can't I…move?' Knuckles cracked his eyes open and glanced around. He was alive. In terrible shape, but alive. He was back in Knothole! In the medical hut! Why was he here? He glanced over to the side of the room and saw Julie-Su glancing out the window. She turned around and their eyes met, causing both of them to freeze. Finally, she whispered his name, while he continued to stare. She suddenly smiled widely and shouted his name as she ran over and threw her arms around his neck. She then yelled out the window that he had woken up, and the sounds of their friend's voices could be heard approaching. He just laid there on the bed as they all rushed in, smiling and saying things like 'How are you feeling?" or 'Did you sleep well? What would you like for breakfast?' Their smiles faded to looks of confusion as he turned his face away from them. "What's wrong?" Sally asked him. "…After…after how I…how I used you all…how could you…" he said quietly, until Cap cut in with, "Because friends forgive friends." Knuckles just stared at their smiles, until he had grown one of his own. Suddenly, he jumped. "Enerjak! What-" "He vanished. We think he might have imploded. There's not trace of him anywhere. F.C. and Shadow have been-" "Shadow? You met Shadow? He's here?" "Right here," said Shadow, who was sitting in the window. Knuckles smiled at the sight of his old friend, then jumped to attention again. "Mace!" "Quiet! You'll wake him."

Knuckles looked down at his side and froze. There was his baby brother, cuddled up next to him. Slowly, the little echidna brought his ting hands up and wiped his eyes. He looked up at Knuckles, paused, then smiled and giggled before crawling up to his older brother's face. "Mace…Oh God, Mace," Knuckles sobbed as he wrapped his arm around Mace without hurting him with his cast. The others simply stood and smiled as Mace giggled while Knuckles cried.

"I have to be in a what?" Knuckles said to the doctor, who was cringing. "A…a wheelchair. Your arms are fine, but your legs took much more damage. Walking on them will do more harm than good." "But I can't just sit around! I've been lying around for…How long have I been out?" The doctor cringed again before saying, "About nine days." "WHAT!" Sally shook her head as she saw this conversation getting nowhere. She was also worried about Knothole. Without her around, who knows what kind of damage those idiots were causing. She shuddered at the thought of it.

"Who took the boom box?" Rotor yelled. "I did," DJ said proudly. "Why?" Mighty asked, wondering why anyone would separate the gang from their tunes, especially one within their own ranks. "I've been working overtime on a private project back in the woods. You gotta take an oath of secrecy, though. If Sally found out she'd kill me for wasting so much time." They reluctantly took the oath of secrecy, which included belching the alphabet, forwards and backwards. After much difficult, they followed him into the back of the woods. "You ready?" he said, before pushing back a thick brush and leading them through a narrow passage. It led them into a small open area, filled with papers, some of which were perverted pictures, scrap metal, and a big sheet. Tails looked up at the ceiling and noticed it was assembled from logs, branches, and vine. "Like the roof, Tails? I made it myself." "You can tell. Is this place safe?" "Now, I present to you, my secret project," he said as he tightened his fingers on the sheet. "Isn't that the bed sheet that was stolen?" "Borrowed. With every intent of returning," DJ said before pulling the sheet and revealing a long…well it resembled a vehicle, but one might not call it that. It was long, it has four wheels, a strange spherical chamber in the back, and a sort of drill in the front. They could tell it was made from scrap metal, being that the hub caps were SWAT bot heads. "What a piece of junk," Ray said as they stared. "Luke Skywalker said the same thing about the Millennium Falcon! And look what that baby did, man!" "All things aside, what is it?" Vector asked. "Remember all those weeks ago when we were checking out that huge hill and though about how much air we could get off of it? Well, I went to work and constructed…the Freedom Ferrari!" "More like Freedom Station Wagon. What does it run on?" "Super speed. See, you get Sonic or Freezie or both, and put them in the glass ball chamber. They run, and that turns the wheels. The drill is for plowing through trees and rocks and that sort." They all looked at each other with smiles. "This could be cool…" they said to each other. "Well, let's take her for a spin!" "Yeah!" "Problem," DJ said, cutting off their excitement. "What?" "It's kinda stuck in here until I dig out a secret entrance for it," he said, showing a small indent in the wall and a bunch of spoons. They all groaned as they grabbed spoons and began to dig.

Not much later, they were out, positioning the Freedom Ferrari upon a large hill. At the bottom was a smaller hill, which they intended to launch off of. "Everyone strapped in?" DJ asked. "Yeah. Let's do this!" Sonic said in excitement, entering the chamber. "Wait a sec!" Cap said, trying to keep a level head and out of trouble. "What about Sal?" he asked. "She can have a ride once we make sure it's safe." Cap paused, stroked his chin then said, "Sounds good to me! Let's go!" Shadow simply stood off to the side and shook his head. "I wash my hands clean of you," he said. "You're the one missing out!" "Ready?" "Countdown, everyone!" "THREE…TWO…ONE…GO!"

"Howcouldyouallbesostupid!Thisisthemostidioticthingyou'veeverdone!Youhaveabsolutelynocommonsenseatall!" Sally said, still shouting at them a mile a minute. They all stared at the ground, covered in leaves, with a bump here, and a scratch there. They wondered when Sally last drew a breath. "Whatdoyouhavetosayforyourselves!" "Well…we didn't go high enough to show up on radar," Cap said, met by more super fast scolding from Sally. "We actually made it through all the trees…we just didn't expect to…soar into the mountain side…" "Shutup,Mighty!" She then turned to DJ, who sat there in silence. "And you! Constructing that monstrosity in secret, planning to do something so stupid with it! I'm gonna-" She then noticed he wasn't moving. "Areyouevenlisteningtome?Youwantmetodieyoung?" Tails knocked on DJ's helmet, and all they heard was a hollow echo. 'This is DJ. Sorry, but I'm not in my suit right now. Leave a message after the sicka-whaaaat?' Sally groaned, waited for the 'sicka-whaaaaat?', then screamed, "TODD!GetyourassbackinyoursuitsoIcankickit!" Suddenly, the door opened and in strolled Todd, sporting his cow boxers. "Sup, y'all?" he said as he walked in, scratching his behind. He casually took his time putting on his suit, gave it a minute to boot up, and waited for all systems to check. When they did, he checked his messages, and then looked at Sally. "…You wanted me?"


End file.
